Periodic rotary and cam switch



April 20,1926. 1,581,117 4 H. L. HAYNES PERIODIC ROTARY AND CAN SWITCH ile April 27 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 20 1926.

1,581,117 H. L. HAYNES PERIODIC ROTARY AND CAI SWITCH Filed April 27', 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 20 1926. v 1,581,117

- H. L.- HAYNES PERIODIC ROTARY AND CAN SWITCH Filed April 27, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet .5

Patented 2.5), 1926.

UNITED STATES 'ZPATiEh-ET he hili sine.

HAROLD L. HAYNES, OF LAKEWOOD, (EH10, ASSIGNOR TO LARIMER COMPANY, OF AUBGRA, ILLINOIS, A 'G-OEFOLLATION OF ILLINOIS.

PERIODIC ROTARY AND CAM SEVI'IOH.

Application filed April 27, 1925.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HAROLD L. HAYNEs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lakewood, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Periodic Rotary and Cain Switches, of which the following is afull, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to circuit control ling devices.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a circuit controlling device for controlling the circuit to intermittently, illuminated electric signs which will cause contact to be successively-made with different portions of a rotatable member to insure even wear and good contact.

Further objects will appear from the description and claims.

In the drawings, in which an embodiment of my invention is shown,

Figure l is a plan view ofa circuit controlling device;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation with the cover shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 1 is asection substantially on the line 4C l of Fig. 3;

Fig. is a detail of the contact shoes; and

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the wiring connection.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the construction shown comprises a rotatable drum 1 of conducting material, a pair of pivotally mounted contact shoes 2 of conducting material, insulated fromeach-other and oscillatable into and out of engagement with respect to the inner surface of said drum, a rotatable earn 3 coaxial with said drum for controlling the oscillationof-said shoes, and means for driving said drum and cam at difierent speeds :relative to :each other, whereby the contact shoes will suecessively. engage different portions .of the inner surface of the drum.

-A pair of magnetic blow-outdevices 4 are provided adjacent the point of contact between the oscillatableshoes and the. rotatable .drum for lessening the are when the contact is broken.

S6113]. NO. 23,179.

The means for driving the shoe controlling cam 3 and rotatable drum 1 at different speeds comprise the bevel gear 5 lriven from the motor 6 through suitable transmission described hereinafter, a shaft 7 on which the bevel gear 5 is mounted, and on which the shoe controlling cam 3 also is mounted, a spur gear 8 secured to rotate with the shaft 7, a double faced spur gear having one face 9 meshing with the spur gear 8, another spur gear 10 slightly larger in diameter than the spur gear 8 and meshing with the other face 11 of the double faced spur gear, and a sleeve 12 rotatable with the spur gear 10, on which sleeve the rotatable drum 1 is mounted to rotate there with. Because of the difference in diameter of the spur gears 8 and 10, the contact drum 1 will rotate at a slightly slower speed than the cam 3 which controls the oscillation .of the contact shoes 2, so'that each time the cam revolves, it will bring the contact shoes into engagement with a different spot on the inside of the contact drum.

The contact shoes are oscillatably mounted at 13 and 14 on the vertical extending bracket 15, which also serves as a cap for the bearing in which the end of the shaft 7 is mounted. The shoes are insulated from each other and from the other parts of the apparatus by means of insulation pieces 16 secured to the pivoted arms 21, the contact shoes being mounted on these pieces 16. Each contact shoe is provided with a binding screw 17, from which a flexible connection 18 leads to the binding post 19 for the respective magnet coil 20 forming part of the magnetic blow-out construction (see Figs. 3 and 6).

In order that the contact shoes may be yieldingly pressed into engagement with the inneriface of the contact drum, a yielding lost motion transmission is provided between the .cam3 and each of the pivoted shoecarrying arms 21, this yielding transmission comprising an arm-22 pivotally mounted on the pivoted arm21 and having a-roller follower :23 engaging the cam 3, and a leaf spring 24: securedto the pivoted arm 21 and en a inx thefollower arm from and .i: o i.

slotconnection-is provided at 25 between the two pivoted arms 21 and 22 which permits thenecessarylost motion between "the two.

.In order 'to move the contact shoes away from the contact-drum when, released by the rotation of the cam, a coil torsion spring 26 is provided, one end of which is secured to the supporting bracket 15, and the other or which is secured to the pivoted arm 21.

Each of the magnet coils 20 for tl e magnetic blow-outs is provided with another binding post 2?, from which connections lead to the binding screws 28 to which the controlled circuit 29 is connected. The armatures 20 for the magnets of the magnetic blow-out devices straddle the periphery of the rotatable driun 1 at points adjacent the contact shoes 2, so that when the circuit 's broken by the disengagement of the shoes with respect to the drum, the collapse of the magnetic field will lessen the are in a well understood manner.

The magnetic blow-outs are mounted on a horizontally extending 9:12 21 3l secured to an L-shaped bracket 32 (big. 0) which in turn is secured to the supporting bracket 33 on whic i the transn iesi-on for the drum and n11 P' cam are mounted. The binding screws 2! and 23 are mounted on an insulating piece 3st secured at the top of the supporting brackets and 1 suitable housing 3e may be provided for enclosing the entire mechanism. A tubular nipple 37 is pro-- vided for the wires leading to and from the apparatus.

The transmission from the motor 6 to the bevel gear 5 previously referred to comprises a crank disc 33 rotatable with the motor shaft and provided with a crank pin 39, a crank disc 10 having a notch 11 to receive the crank pin 39, so that the crank disc rotates with the crank pin, suitable worm gear transmission 42 driven from the crank disc l0, a bevel gear a3 driven from this worm transmission a2, a bevel gear at meshing with the bevel gear 43, a shaft 4-5 on which the bevel gear l is mounted, and a bevel pinion e6 mounted on the shaft 4:5 and meshing with the bevel gear 5 previously referred to.

Suitable electrical connections lead from the motor 6 to the two binding screws to which the power lines for the motor are connected. As shown in Fig. 6, the circuit is from the line d9 through the conductor 50 to the binding screw 28, through the con doctor 51 to the binding screw 27, through the magnet coil 20 to the binding screw 19, through the flexible conductor 18 to the binding screw 17 on the contact shoe 2, through the rotatable drum 1 to the other contact shoe 2, from the binding screw 17 on this contact shoe through the flexible conductor 18 to the binding screw 19 of the other magnet coil 20, through the magnet coil to the other binding screw 2?, from this binding screw 27 through the conductor 52 to the binding screw 28 and thence through the conductor 29, controlled devices to the other side of the line 49.

In operation, the rotatable drum and contact controlling cam are driven at slightly dilierent speeds, so that each time one of the shoes is pressed outwardly into engagement with the rotatable drum, it engages the drum in a different place, to insure even lost motion connection comprises a pin attending diametrically through the shaft 7 and having its ends engaging the slots in the hub of the cam This lost motion connection permits the cam to snap forward quickly the instant the rollers 23 slip oil from the abrupt shoulders 55. This snapping forward of the cam 3 lets the arms 21 move inwardly rapidly to effect a quick break between the shoes 2 and the drum 1. During the next half-revolution of the cam 3 the drag of the rollers 23 on the cam 3 retards the cam until the pin 53 catches up with the cam and drives it positively.

I claim:

1. A circuit controlling device comprising a rotatable drum of conducting ma terial, a pair of pivotallv mounted contact shoes of conducting material insulated from each other and oscillatable into and out of engagement with respect to the inner surface of said drum, a rotatable cam coaxial with said drum for controlling the oscillation' of said shoes, and means for driving said drum at a speed different from the speed of said cam whereby the contact shoes will successively engage different portions of the inner surface of the drum.

2. A circuit controlling device comprising a rotatable member having a circular contact surface, a pair of contact pieces insulated from each other, and movable into and out of engagement with respect to said circular contact surface said contact surface being a conductor and electrically con necting said contact pieces when in engagement therewith, means for rotating said rotatable member, and means for intermittently bringing both of said contact pieces into and out of engagement successively with respect to different portions of said contact surface.

3. A (illClllL controlling device comprising a rotatable member having a circular contact surface, a contact piece movable into and out of engagement with respect to said circular contact surface, means for rotating said rotatable member, and rotatable means coaaial with said rotatable member for intermittently bringing said contact piece into and out of engagement successively with respect to different portions of said circular contact surface.

4. A circuit controlling device comprising a rotatable member having a circular contact surface, a contact piece movable into and out of engagement with respect to said circular contact surface, means for rotating said rotatable member, and means for intermittently bringing said contact piece into and out of engagement successively with respect to different portions of said circular contact surface, comprising a rotatable cam co-axial with said rotatable member and means for rotating said cam at a different speed from that of the rotatable member.

A circuit controlling device comprising a rotatable drum of conchictine material, a pair of pivotally mounted contact shoes of conducting material insulated from each other and oscillatable into and out of engagement with respect to the inner surface of said drum, a rotatable member coaxial with said drum for controlling the oscillation of said shoes, and means for driving said drum at a speed different from the speed of said member whereby the contact shoes will successively engage different portions of the inner surface of the drum.

6. A circuit controlling device comprising a rotatable member having a circular contact surface, a contact piece movable into and out of engagement with respect to said circular contact surface, means for rotating said rotatable member, and means for intermittently bringing said contact piece into and out of engagement successively with respect to different portions of said circular contact surface, comprising a second rotatable member coaXial with said first rotatable member, and means for rotating said second member at a different speed from that of the first rotatable member.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

HAROLD L. HAYNES. 

